Psychological safety

What the publications show

1. Two studies find that the middle layer feels less safe. According to Harvard Business Review, middle managers voice mistakes and doubts less freely than their bosses and teams, and school leaders in British Columbia feel less safe with their board than at school.

   Harvard Business Review, 2025 (opens in a new window) · University of British Columbia, 2025 (opens in a new window)

2. The layer expected to model safety is itself under pressure. Northumbria University found among 18 managers in UK nursing and midwifery that offering safety from an unsafe position causes moral distress; MIT Sloan places innovation on the front line with that layer.

   Northumbria University, 2026 (opens in a new window) · MIT Sloan Management Review, 2026 (opens in a new window)

3. There is little direct research on AI and psychological safety. A Plovdiv University review calls the literature on silence and voice in learning around AI fragmented; Harvard Business Review discusses the issue from a leadership perspective.

   Plovdiv University, 2026 (opens in a new window) · Harvard Business Review, 2026 (opens in a new window)

Topics within psychological safety

This list shows what the publications on this theme are about, with the number for each topic. Open a topic to see its publications; if a topic has a briefing, the link is underneath.

• Middle managers3 publications

  • Middle Managers Feel the Least Psychological Safety at Work · Harvard Business Review, 2025
  • How Leaders Unlock Innovation on the Front Lines · MIT Sloan Management Review, 2026
  • Psychological Safety of School Administrators: A Dual Reality · University of British Columbia, 2025
  Briefing: Psychological safety of middle managers and their role in teams →
• Healthcare and education2 publications

  • Fostering Psychological Safety From Unsafe Ground: Professional Identity and the Leadership Paradox in NHS Nursing and Midwifery · Northumbria University, 2026
  • Psychological Safety of School Administrators: A Dual Reality · University of British Columbia, 2025
• AI and speaking up2 publications

  • Employee silence and voice in AI-driven workplace learning: an integrative literature review · Plovdiv University, 2026
  • What Leaders Need to Know About AI and Psychological Safety · Harvard Business Review, 2026

Briefings on this theme

Where several organisations publish roughly the same thing on a topic, we have used AI to compile a briefing. Click a card for the key point, the figures with their sources and what it means for the leadership team.